Sunday, May 24, 2009

If you follow this blog you know that I have made BBQ tofu before. So, what makes this "ultimate?" Good question! It's all about the method. I noticed that freezing tofu makes it rather like a sponge; much more able to soak up sauces. So, I thought I would try freezing the tofu in BBQ sauce, thawing it, then throwing it on the grill. The experiment was a success--full of flavour and with a great texture. It does takes some planning to make this dish, so consider throwing a few batches in the freezer at the beginning of the week.

1. Bring ingredients for BBQ sauce to bubbling in a saucepan. Add tofu, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10 mins.

2. Remove tofu and place in a Pyrex dish (or whatever you use to freeze stuff). Cover with sauce, cover, and place in the freezer. Let freeze completely.

3. The day before you want to eat said tofu, place in the fridge to thaw. Or, just thaw in the microwave before grilling.4. Grill tofu on a hot grill 3-4 mins per side, then rotating 90 degrees and repeating. Baste regulalry with the BBQ sauce. If you like, set aside some sauce and thicken in a saucepan on the stove, then slather over the grilled tofu.

Do you ever press your tofu before marinating it? I find that getting rid of most of the water before exposing the tofu to the "sauce" helps it soak up the flavor better. But I never actually use BBQ sauce; I make my own marinade out of soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame seed oil, so it's probably not as thick as your marinade.

Living in memphis i have learned a lot from my meat loving city mates. try a dry rub with paprika, sage, garlic powder, black pepper, and nutmeg. Put that on the tofu to marinate. grill the tofu over high heat to get the grill marks, place over indirect heat, and then sauce it. it will keep the sugar in the sauce from burning, and you have a double wall of flavor.

Yummy! My kids love anything with BBQ sauce, but I'd been doing soy curls for awhile; this will make a nice change, especially with the season's first corn on the cob (not as good as the local stuff to come, but still exciting)!

This looks great!! now that the weather has turned I have been drawn to the grill .. but I don't like premade anything (veggie burgers included) and for some reason, it never even crossed my mind to try grilling tofu. So weird for me to still be thinking inside the omni-box (grill = meat)...thanks for this, I will definitely be trying it!

I usually freeze tofu just for a better texture. Sometimes I think about marinading it at the same time but then I feel like I would have nothing to do with the marinade afterward. this is a great idea. keep up the good work!

I often freeze tofu, thaw it, and bake it in a barbecue or other type of marinade. My husband is always telling me to try marinating it first, then freezing, but I didn't think the marinade would soak in. But your method of simmering it in the marinade first seems to take care of that. Great idea, I'll definitely be trying this one!

I'm eating this right now and it's fabulous. I like super sweet BBQ sauces and this is yummy. I pressed the tofu before freezing it to get the water out, but I'm thinking the texture doesn't change as much with freezing if I press it first.